Loudoun Chamber president Tony Howard makes the case for additional state transportation funding and cooperation in the General Assembly.
Last month, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority held several public hearings to gather public input on the proposal to raise tolls on the Dulles Toll Road to pay for Virginia‘s share of the Dulles Rail Project.
Though these toll hikes are planned to fund Virginia’s share of the project, MWAA was the one vilified by the opponents of this project.
On Oct. 17, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors will stage a public hearing on the proposal to create two special tax districts in eastern Loudoun to pay for the County’s share of the project.
No doubt the loyal opposition will again be out in force to oppose these tax districts and the completion of the Dulles Rail Project that is favored by 80 percent of Loudoun residents.
But even amongst the majority of Loudoun residents who favor Dulles Rail and other transportation investments, there are valid questions and even strong resentment over the state of Virginia’s transportation program.
The toll rate plan and proposed tax districts represent a new reality in Virginia, one in which the Commonwealth neglects its responsibility to fund transportation improvements and local governments are forced to raise the money needed to build new road and rail capacity.
But this is a reality that Virginians need not accept. . . .Click here for the rest of this letter by Loudoun Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Howard.
Since it is rare (maybe unprecedented) that we find ourselves even generally aligned with any of the local CoC's on area development matters, we thought it useful to highlight the concerns expressed here by the Loudoun CoC, which are similar to our own.
Indeed, we believe that, other than Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the Commonwealth of Virginia has the most to gain--or lose by permitting tolls to climb--with the building of the Silver Line. The development that will come with arrival of rail will help fill all their treasuries from the associated taxes of so many types, but it will be substantially reduced if workers and residents go elsewhere because of high tolls.
All three are ducking their investment responsibilities to make the Silver Line succeed and dumping it on the backs of the Dulles Toll Road users. Indeed, the secret deal cut in 2009 among the Loudoun Board (different composition than at present), the Fairfax Board (almost the identical composition), and MWAA that forces toll road users to pick up well over half of the cost of construction--and three-quarters of any additional costs--was one of the most grossly inequitable in northern Virginia history.
We believe that toll road users should pay no more than one-quarter of the Metrorail construction costs in line with the 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). MWAA and the local counties should step up to pay the difference--about 54% instead of 25% agreed to in their secret deal--barring additional state or federal funding. The state should also substantially increase its contribution in line with its support for other large transportation infrastructure projects in southern Virginia and the tax gains that can be anticipated. And the federal government, whose approval of a $900 million grant got this project started, needs to add to its limited funding effort as well, even if it is only a TIFIA loan.
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